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Brighton resident to attend Trump's speech

Jonathan Siegel addressed a crowds at a press conference with Rep. Louise Slaughter about what could happen if the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, is repealed.(Photo: OLIVIA LOPEZ, @olopez4/staff photographer)Buy Photo

WASHINGTON - Jonathan Siegel says he’ll be paying close attention to what President Trump says about the Affordable Care Act during his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.

And the Brighton resident will be there in person to hear it live.

Siegel was invited to attend the speech by Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, after helping her protest Republican attempts to repeal and replace the law, known as Obamacare.

“If he says things like, ‘I’m going to make sure everybody has health insurance, and it’s going to be great and it’s going to be what you need,’ then I hope to be one of the people who holds him to that,” Siegel said.

Siegel’s wife has multiple sclerosis and their insurance, under Obamacare, meets her needs. But he worries about the unknown under a yet-to-be determined Republican plan.

Last month, the GOP-led Congress passed legislation paving the way for a swift repeal. Republicans point to rising premiums, high deductibles and fewer choices for patients as insurers pull out of the program as reasons for repeal. No replacement plan has been unveiled, but Trump tweeted that plans are moving “fast.”

A draft of one plan would scrap Obamacare’s subsidies, Medicaid expansion and taxes, and give states money to create high risk pools for those with pre-existing conditions, according to a Friday report by POLITICO, which obtained a copy of the proposal.

Democrats have said a repeal would jeopardize the health care of 30 million Americans. They argue that a repeal will leave people with pre-existing medical conditions unable to find coverage, and increase the nation's budget deficit by $353 billion over the next 10 years as the tax and fee provisions that pay for Obamacare are gutted.

Slaughter invited Siegel to speak at her well attended Obamacare event on Jan. 15 in Rochester after he shared his story with her office. He also testified Jan. 31 before the House Oversight & Government Reform’s Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits and Administrative Rules.

“When the president looks up into the gallery during his speech, I want him to see Jonathan,” Slaughter said in a statement. “He is a reminder of the millions of families all across the country whose lives and livelihoods will be devastated if Republicans repeal health reform.”

Siegel said he hopes to add his voice to the millions of others that have tried to explain “why the ACA is so valuable.”

“I’m not going in there with the notion that I’m going to be delighted or angry,” he said. “I’m just going to listen to what the man has to say.”

For Siegel and his family, the law has had additional benefits, beyond health care. After he was laid off from Harris Interactive in 2012, Obamacare gave him the security to start a research firm, Meliora Research in Rochester, rather than seeking traditional employment.

“Without it I would have said, 'No, I really need to find an employer who could provide health insurance,'” he said. “Because you don’t mess around with MS.”

He and his family purchased a gold plan on the state exchange without subsidies, paying about $1,360 a month for coverage that costs less than the COBRA plan he had through Harris.

His biggest fear is that his wife will end up in a “high risk pool,” with no guarantee that the coverage will be affordable.

“I fear for my access to health insurance, and even more for my spouse,” he told more than 400 people who gathered for Slaughter’s Obamacare event on Jan. 15.